Practice Policies

Confidentiality & Medical Records

The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Complaints

We hope that your experience as a patient of Clee Medical Centre is a positive one, however if you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the Doctors or any of the staff working in the practice, please inform us. Patients can choose who they would prefer to handle their complaint, either the Practice or the Intergrated Care Board (ICB)

How To Complain

We would like to be given the opportunity to sort out any problem as easily and quickly as possible, and usually at the time it arises and with the person concerned. If this is not possible and you wish to make a complaint, please inform us as soon as possible, ideally within a few days to enable us to establish what has happened more easily. If this is not possible please let us have the details within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem.

If You Wish The Practice To Handle The Complaint

Please write or email (nel.b81015@nhs.net) to Complaints Manager.

Alternatively a complaints form can be collected from reception and a staff member will explain the procedure to you.  The staff will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly. It will be a great help if you are specific as possible about your complaint.

If You Wish your local integrated care board (ICB) To Handle The Complaint

Telephone: 01904 555999

E-mail: hnyicb.experience@nhs.net

Writing to us at: The Experience Team, Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, Health Place, Wrawby Road, Brigg, DN20 8GS

What Will We Do?

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days of receipt and aim to have investigated your complaint within twenty working days. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation in writing, or a meeting with the people involved. On investigation we shall aim to:

Establish what happened and what went wrong;

Make it possible for you to discuss the problem with those concerned;

Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;

Identify what we can do to avoid the problem recurring.

Complaining On Behalf Of Someone Else

Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to have their permission to do so. Written consent from the patient will be required (unless there is incapacity due to illness).

Complaints Made By Or On Behalf Of A Child

A Complaint may be made on behalf of a child where:

There are reasonable grounds for a third party to make the complaint rather than the child;

Where the complaint is in the best interests for the child;

If able to do so a complaint may be made directly by the child.

What Happens If You Are Unhappy With The Explanation?

If you are unhappy with the explanation provided the last stage of the Complaints procedure is for the complaint to be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman who can be contacted on their complaints Helpline between 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Tel 0345 015 4033 or by emailphso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk or fax them on 0300 061 4000. You can also contact them in writing at:- The Parliamentary Health service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP.

Policy For Under 16's

Violence Policy

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

Chaperone Policy

To view our Chaperone policy, please press HERE